BBC: A major Conservative Party donor was listed as a director of a company secretly owned by a Russian oligarch close to President Putin.
The BBC has seen a document dated 2006 and signed "Lubov Golubeva", the maiden name of Lubov Chernukhin, a Tory donor.
Mrs Chernukhin says she "does not recall consenting in writing" to being a director of Suleiman Kerimov's firm.
Mr Kerimov, now sanctioned, previously denied any connection with Mrs Chernukhin.
Papers seen by the BBC appear to show that Mrs Chernukhin, then Lubov Golubeva, was appointed a director of offshore company Radlett Estates Limited, in 2005 - following its acquisition of a substantial property, 1 Radlett Place, in north London.
Another firm - Swiru Holding AG - was the sole shareholder of Radlett Estates. The directors of Radlett Estates were Swiss businessman Alexander Studhalter and Suleiman Kerimov's nephew, Nariman Gadzhiev.
Mr Studhalter was accused in a French court of being a so-called "straw man", or proxy, for Mr Kerimov - involved in hiding the oligarch's wealth. » | James Oliver, Steve Swann and Nassos Stylianou, BBC Panorama and BBC News | Thursday, April 21, 2022
These people have come a very long way in a very short time. It’s surprising how far one can come when a communist country collapses and the assets are stripped by the élite! When the Soviet Union collapsed, the masses were impoverished to enrich the super-priviliged few. – © Mark
